daily news and photography about cacti and succulents and some carnivorous plants too

Mexican Snowball

This plant looks rather generic to me. Similar to a lot of other Echeverias, old-fashioned, straight-forward. But people love it! We can’t grow enough of it.

It’s hardy to 25F and can take your high wind location, not that there are any Echeverias that can’t handle wind since they’re so low to the ground. Moderate to full sun is best.

And when you talk to your plants, this species likes to hear about the old days, back when you were a kid and first learning to dig in the earth and you planted carrot seeds; when you would come back a couple weeks later and dig them up to see if you had carrots yet but you didn’t so you had to plant new seeds and start over; and how the hose didn’t reach quite far enough so you asked your dad for a longer hose but instead he gave you the watering can and told you to fill it up and walk it over. But you were clever – you got out the lawn sprinkler and turned it on and it reached far enough to water the carrots but you left it on overnight and boy was your dad pissed. But that’s OK because later that summer you dug up the carrots and they grew for you – just for you! and they were even more delicious than the carrots in the refrigerator in the plastic bag.

That’s what this succulent wants to hear you tell it. It likes that story.